Posted on

Jones begins building first recruiting class at A-State

Share

Red Wolves enter a new era with 10 signees for 2021 football season

A-State Media Relations JONESBORO — The Arkansas State football team added 10 players from eight different states to its 2021 recruiting class, its first under new head coach Butch Jones, on Wednesday.

Named A-State’s 31st alltime head football coach just this past Saturday, Dec. 12, Jones and the Red Wolves’ current class consists of seven offensive and three defensive players.

The group includes two players at each of the linebacker, offensive line, wide receiver and running back positions. The program also added one defensive back and a quarterback.

“We’re excited about welcoming these 10 new individuals into our football family,” said Jones. “I believe this will provide great momentum moving forward towards the next signing day in February.”

Today’s announced class on the first day of the early signing period includes four who will be available to participate in the Red Wolves’ spring camp, including wide receiver Te’Vailance Hunt (TCU), running back Alan Lamar (Yale), quarterback Wyatt Begeal (Cibolo, Texas) and defensive back Justin Parks (Gardendale, Ala.).

Including Begeal and Parks, eight of the 10 players inking with the Red Wolves were high school recruits. The six other high school players joining AState were linebacker Ethan Hassler (Collierville, Tenn.), running back Bobby McMillian (Vero Beach, Fla.), Tristan Shorter (Oxford, Miss.), Nason Simmons (Canton, Ga.), Makilan Thomas (Little Rock, Ark.) and Omari Walker (McKinney, Texas).

2021 Arkansas State Recruiting Class

1. Wyatt Begeal: 6-0, 189, Fr., QB, Cibolo, Texas (Steele)* 2. Ethan Hassler: 6-3, 220, Fr., LB, Collierville, Tenn. (Collierville) 3. Te’Vailance Hunt: 6-3, 200, Jr., WR, Texarkana, Texas (TCU)* 4. Alan Lamar: 5-9, 202, Sr., RB, Olive Branch, Miss. (Yale)* 5. Bobby McMillian: 5-10, 190, Fr., RB, Vero Beach, Fla. (Vero Beach) 6. Justin Parks: 6-1, 180, Fr., DB, Gardendale, Ala.

(Gardendale)* 7. Tristan Shorter: 6-0, 190, Fr., LB, Oxford, Miss.

(Oxford)

Continued on Page 7

Coach Butch Jones A-STATE FOOTBALL (cont.)

8. Nason Simmons: 6-7, 280, Fr., OL, Canton, Ga. (Cherokee) 9. Makilan Thomas: 6-3, 295, Fr., OL, Little Rock, Ark. (Central) 10. Omari Walker: 5-9, 175, Fr., WR, McKinney, Texas (McKinney) *midyear signee available for spring camp (4)

Texas (3): Wyatt Begeal (QB), Te’Vailance Hunt (WR), Omari Walker (WR) Alabama (1): Justin Parks (DB) Arkansas (1): Makilan Thomas (OL) Connecticut (1): Alan Lamar (RB) Florida (1): Bobby McMillian (RB) Georgia (1): Nason Simmons (OL) Mississippi (1): Tristan Shorter (LB) Tennessee (1): Ethan Hassler (LB)

LB (2): Ethan Hassler, Tristan Shorter OL (2): Nason Simmons, Makilan Thomas WR (2): Te’Vailance Hunt, Omari Walker RB (2): Alan Lamar, Bobby McMillian DB (1): Justin Parks QB (1): Wyatt Begeal The list includes eight high school players, as well as one FBS transfer and one FCS transfer.

Mid-year signee available to participate in A-State’s spring camp … Starter since freshman season at Steele HS … Passed for 5,585 yards and 46 touchdowns while rushing for 1,119 yards and 20 more TDs since his breakout freshman season (entering senior year). . . Won first seven games as a starter in freshman season, leading Steele to Class 6A Division II state quarterfinals in 2017 … Led Knights to 23-8 record prior to his senior season (still playing heading into weekend) …

Selected to the San Antonio Sports All-Star Football Game to be played on January 30, 2021 … 3-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN … 2-star recruit by Rivals … Listed in 247Sports composite rankings as the No. 42 dualstyle quarterback in the nation and the No. 221 overall player in the state of Texas … Ranks No. 12 among dual-threat QBs according to QB Hit List …

Listed as the No. 19 dualthreat QB in the nation and No. 155 overall player in the state of Texas by ESPN … Also recruited by schools such as Rice, Texas State and Bowling Green.

Ethan Hassler: 6-3, 220, Fr., LB, Collierville, Tenn. (Collierville)

Named First Team Region 7-6A and Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2020 … In seven games as a senior in 2020, recorded 47 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and 3 passes defended … Finished 2019 junior season with 69 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, one forced fumble and an interception … .

ESPN 3-star recruit listed as the No. 131 defensive end in the nation and No.

37 overall player in the state … 247Sports 3-star prospect ranked as the No.

66 weak-side defensive end in the nation and the No.

28 overall player in Tennessee … Rivals 3-star prospect listing him as the No. 37 overall player in the state of Arkansas … Also recruited by teams such as Southern Miss, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Liberty, Louisville, Memphis, Tulsa and Wake Forest.

Te’Vailance Hunt: 6-3, 200, Jr., WR, Texarkana, Texas (TCU)*

Mid-year signee available to participate in A-State’s spring camp … Played in three games at TCU in 2020 … As a sophomore in 2019, posted 20 receptions for 308 yards and one touchdown … Played in all 12 games with nine starts … Had at least one reception in nine games with multiple grabs in seven contests … His first career touchdown was a spectacular 24-yard grab, in which he got a hand down in the end zone, on a 4th-and-9 pass to tie the Baylor game in the first overtime … Had career-high totals of four receptions for 78 yards at Iowa State … Recorded a career-long grab of 49 yards, as part of two catches, in the 51-14 win over Kansas … Posted three receptions against Oklahoma and UAPB …

Had two catches in wins over No. 15 Texas and Texas Tech … Saw action in nine games as a freshman season in 2019 …

Totaled four receptions for 45 yards … Had a careerlong catch of 21 yards at Kansas … His first colle-

Continued on Page 14 A-STATE FOOTBALL (cont.)

giate reception was a 9yard grab versus Texas Tech … also had a reception against West Virginia and Oklahoma State …

Rated as four-star recruit by 247Sports.com coming out of Texas High School in Texarkana … Ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver in Texas and No. 23 in the country … Rated the No. 15 overall player in the state and No. 161 nationally …

Totaled 69 receptions for 1,243 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior …

Named first-team District 16-5A … Chose TCU over Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

Graduate transfer available to participate in A-State’s spring camp … Senior season posted 70 rushing attempts for 229 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 12 passes for 93 yards and another score …

Helped lead Yale to a 9-1 overall record and claimed the Ivy League championship with a 6-1 mark …

Earned First Team All-Ivy League honors in 2018 …

Also tabbed All-New England and Phil Steele Second Team All-Ivy League … Led team in rushing with 685 yards on 124 attempts in eight games … Missed two games due to injury …

Averaged 5.5 yards per carry and totaled nine touchdowns … Against Penn, earned Ivy League Player of the Week and College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week after rushing for 179 yards on 24 attempts and two touchdowns … Missed the 2017 season due to a preseason injury … Team's freshman MVP and earned Freshman All-America honors in 2016 … Second-Team All-Ivy League running back … Served as top kickoff return man for the first four games until he was needed at tailback …

Led Yale with 557 yards and five TDs … Got first collegiate snaps in the backfield vs Dartmouth and ran 23 times for 180 yards and touchdowns of seven and 43 yards … His Dartmouth total was five yards shy of Robert Carr’s freshman school rushing record of 185 yards and got him STATS FCS (national) Rookie of the Week and Ivy co-Rookie of the Week … First start vs. Penn with 118 yards and a TD catch … Scored on one-yard run in win at Harvard … Varsity football letterman at DeSoto Central High School, where he was tabbed Parade High School All-American … First-team all-state … First-team USA Today All-Mississippi Team … First-team Mississippi All-Southern Elite Sports …

Shelby/Metro Player of the Year … DeSoto County Player of the Year. . .

Started for Mississippi in the MS vs AL All-Star HS Football Classic … Threetime first-team all-district … Three-time Commercial Appeal (Memphis Area) Best of the Prep … Clarion-Ledger Mississippi Best of the Prep … Three-time TEAM Offensive Player of the Year … Two-time team MVP … Tied a state record with 9 rushing TDs on 59 carries with 421 rush yards in a game … Started 40 games … Rushed for 5,118 yards and accumulated 6,534 All-Purpose Yards while scoring 77 touchdowns and throwing 3 touchdown passes … Led MS Class 6A in regular season rushing junior and senior years … Led Mississippi in scoring senior year with 266 points (43 TDs) … Scored 62 points in one game … Was a team captain … Ten varsity letters in football (4), Powerlifting (3) and Track (3) … Qualified for state championship meet in powerlifting … National Honor Society … Mu Alpha Theta Mathematic Honor Society … National Society of High School Scholars.

Bobby McMillian: 5-10, 190, Fr., RB, Vero Beach, Fla. (Vero Beach)

Three-year varsity letterman who posted 165 rushing attempts for 1,116 yards (101.5 ypg) and 20 touchdowns as a senior …

Went over 100 yards rushing in six outings …

Averaged 6.8 yards per carry … Also caught 37 passes for 419 yards and four touchdowns in 2020 … Finished his junior year with 440 rushing yards on 81 carries with four touchdowns … Recorded 17 receptions for another 253 yards … Named a CBS12 (TV) Athlete of the Week after scoring two touchdowns in a regional semifinal game against Boone.

Justin Parks: 6-1, 180, Fr., DB, Gardendale, Ala.

(Gardendale)*

Mid-year signee available to participate in A-State’s spring camp … 3-star recruit by 247Sports and A-STATE FOOTBALL (cont.)

Rivals … Listed as the No.

68 overall player in the state of Alabama and No.

133 cornerback in the 247Sports composite rankings … Also recruited by schools such as Appalachian State, FAU, Georgia State, Liberty, Louisiana, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss, South Alabama, Toledo, Troy and UAB.

Helped Oxford High to a second-straight Mississippi 6A North Half title in 2020, finishing his senior year with a 12-1 record …

Logged a pick-six in first quarter to help Oxford advance to play for the 6A state title … As lone returning starter on defense in his senior season, posted 75 tackles, 12 TFL and six interceptions, four of which were returned for touchdowns … Helped the Oxford High defense win 25-straight wins, before a 29-28 defeat in the Mississippi 6A state title game in 2020 … Part of defense that allowed just 11.1 points per game in 2019 … Posted 84 tackles, including 12 TFL and 4 sacks, along with one interception in junior season …

2-star recruit by Rivals …

Also recruited by schools such as Air Force, Army, South Alabama, UAB and ULM.

Nason Simmons: 6-7, 280, Fr., OL, Canton, Ga.

(Cherokee)

Varsity football and basketball letter winner … Helped lead Cherokee to the state playoffs in 2019 and 2020 … Named 4-7A All-Region as a senior … Also recruited by schools such as Liberty, South Alabama and Mississippi State.

Makilan Thomas: 6-3, 295, Fr., OL, Little Rock, Ark. (Central)

Played at right guard for Little Rock Central High School … Selected to the Arkansas 7A All-State Team as a senior … Helped Tigers to second round of the 7A state playoffs …

Earned All-Conference honors in 2019 … 3-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN … 2-star recruit by Rivals … Listed as No. 16 overall player in the state of Arkansas and No. 80 offensive guard in 247Sports composite rankings … Listed as the No. 10 overall player in the state of Arkansas and No. 78 offensive guard by ESPN.

Omari Walker: 5-9, 175, Fr., WR, McKinney, Texas (McKinney)

and ESPN … Clocked in at 10.50 in the 100 meter dash and is a Junior Olympic All-American on the track … 2-star recruit by Rivals … Listed in 247Sports composite rankings as No.

232 wide receiver and No.

252 overall player … Listed as No. 246 wide receiver and 270 overall player in the state of Texas by ESPN … Also recruited by schools such as SMU.

LAST NEWS
Scroll Up